Easter can give 'a sense of hope,' clergy say

DAN GLEITER, The Patriot-NewsThe Rev. Chester Snyder has been a priest for 32 years. He has been a pastor at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Mechanicsburg for 18 of them. From its pulpit, he will deliver the Easter sermon to about 4,000 parishioners during Sunday's four Masses.

During the Easter Sunday sermon, all eyes are on the priest or pastor and what he or she will say on the holiest day in the Christian calendar. And there are more eyes than usual, as Easter usually brings a much larger crowd.

We asked a few how they go about it:

Rev. Richard L. Houtz, pastor, Derry Presbyterian Church, Hershey

Houtz has been at Derry for 19 years, but he has been a pastor for 37, so he has dozens of Easter sermons under his belt. He tries to place the Easter story in the present day.

"We're not here to celebrate what happened 2,000 years ago -- it's not 'Christ WAS risen, hallelujah.' Christ IS risen, in our life today," he said.

Houtz prepares for his roughly 15-minute sermon by doing lots of reading and spends about a day writing it.

"Times are tough, and people are nervous and scared, and they're looking for a sense of hope, and I think Easter can give that," he said.

Sproul has delivered just one or two Easter Sunday sermons. And he sees them as not being any different than any other sermon.

He spends anywhere from 10 to 15 hours studying for and writing the message, which typically lasts 20 to 25 minutes. But his inspiration comes from everyday life.

"There's a perception that there are people who just come on Christmas and Easter and certainly that's true," he said. "I think what happens on those particular days is everybody comes. We want to have the mindset that this story, this message, is for a new person, a seeker, any given Sunday, not just on Easter."

Rev. Chester Snyder, pastor, St. Joseph Church, Mechanicsburg

Snyder has been at St. Joseph for 14 years and a pastor for 32. The Easter homily is percolating in his head all year round, but he doesn't write it down.

"I have some notes, occasionally I use a text, but most of the time, I don't use a text," Snyder said.

One of his favorite themes in his 10-minute message is the idea of Easter as a "feast of faith."

"There were no witnesses to the resurrection," he said. "What we're dealing with is, are we willing to accept the bodily resurrection of Jesus -- if I am, the benefits of that mystery can touch my life."

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